SAN FRANCISCO -- Before the Giants took batting practice on Friday, Chris Shaw and Austin Slater stood on the field and Slater pointed out different parts of the ballpark. As he spoke, Aramis Garcia joined the conversation.
Things have changed around here.
Shaw, Slater and Garcia were all in Friday's lineup behind Andrew Suarez, along with Alen Hanson, who is also part of the 25-and-younger crowd. Shaw, who arrived Friday, is the most heralded of the bunch, a former first-round pick who has 48 homers the past two seasons.
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The Giants are hoping that power shows over the next 27 games. Manager Bruce Bochy said Shaw will be in left field on a nearly everyday basis. Why will the big left-handed hitter be different than others who have tried and failed to get the ball out of AT&T Park on a consistent basis?
"You look at the plus power," Bochy said. "I don't want him coming up here trying to hit homers. Hit the ball hard and put the barrel on it. I don't want to put that (home run) pressure on him, but he's got good power the other way, too."
Perhaps Shaw should put some of that pressure on himself. The Giants have a lineup of supposed grinders, but Shaw is built from a different mold. He hits dingers and strikes out a lot. That's not what the Giants generally look for, but this lineup could use a little more of that, and team officials are eager to see what they have in Shaw.
"It's his cameo," vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean said. "We'll run him out there as much as he's able to take on."
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The Giants did not plan to call Shaw up originally, although on Friday team officials were careful about the way they phrased the decision. General manager Bobby Evans said they wanted Shaw to arrive with an opportunity to play, and he now has that after the trade of Andrew McCutchen.
This season was an up-and-down one for Shaw. He hit 24 homers in Triple-A but also struck out 144 times while drawing just 21 walks.
"He's had some pretty significant strides this year but also has had some setbacks offensively," Evans said.
The Giants will try to correct some of the flaws, and that beats the alternative. Shaw could have been headed home for the winter. Instead, Triple-A manager Dave Brundage pulled him aside as he had breakfast Friday morning. Brundage told him he would not be making the River Cats' trip to Las Vegas.
"I broke down," Shaw said. "It's something you dream about your entire life."